Disaster Relief in Japan: How You Can Help

Disaster Relief in Japan: How You Can Help

Even though we all love to play games and have fun, there are things that come up that make us step back and look at what is really important. No, it isn’t video games. The earthquake, tsunami and subsequent events in Japan over the last week are such events. The gaming community and industry, however, aren’t taking that sitting down. No, there are people and companies out there working to help provide some monetary relief to Japan in this time of trouble. So, if you ever wondered how you can both play video games and help support the relief effort over there, you’ve come to the right place. Check out the many ways available right now to help support Japan by hitting the jump.

Buying games: Many publishers are donating part or all of the proceeds from certain sales or from their own stores to help support the relief effort in Japan, where many of our most beloved games come from. Here’s a list.

Our friends at SEGA and Capcom are donating the proceeds of some of their iTunes store game sales to the relief effort.

Aksys Games is donating the entirety of the proceeds from anything you buy in their online store to help aid Japan.

CCP Games is allowing players of EVE Online to purchase in-game PLEX (with ISK), and then will be allowing them to donate that PLEX, which CCP will then turn into good, hard cash and donate to Good: Japan for disaster relief. (Yes, I know, it’s kind of convoluted, but every bit helps!)

Events: Some gaming sites and other organizations are working together to hold charity events designed to collect donations to help support the disaster relief in Japan. Here’s a couple.

Kotaku is holding a fundraiser on March 24th in Denver, Colorado, which will be hosted by Editor-in-Chief Brian Crecente. All proceeds will go to the Japanese Red Cross Society. You can find out more about this event by checking out their post on the subject.

We ♥ Japan is holding a charity event in Los Angeles, California, where 100% of the proceeds will go toward disaster relief. This event is an auction that will focus on anime, manga and video game art. There is a lot of voice talent from the anime and gaming world that will be on hand for the event, and you can find out more about it at We ♥ Japan.

If you just want to go the direct route, you can make donations to the Japanese Red Cross to make sure your contribution gets into the right hands. As always, if you, our readers, have any other things that you would like to call attention to as far as disaster relief in Japan goes, please drop us a line in the comments below for all to see.